Local News in Brief : Sponsors of Sunrise Service Left in Debt

A smaller-than-expected turnout for the 69th Easter sunrise service at the Hollywood Bowl Sunday left the volunteer sponsors with a $20,000 deficit, producer-director Norma Foster said Tuesday.

An estimated 6,500 worshipers attended the service instead of the hoped-for 15,000. Foster attributed the small crowd to weather forecasts signaling a chance of rain. “It showered briefly about 3 or 3:30 a.m., about the time when many would have been rising, but the skies were clear after that,” she said.

Foster said this year’s service had a budget of $53,000, of which $33,000 went for labor costs for lighting, sound and stage operations. This was the first time in three years under Foster’s direction that the program has finished in the red; in previous years shortfalls were common, once as high as $30,000.